Cranley's pick for city manager has been involved in political dustups in some of his past jobs, but has more than 25 years of public service experience and reams of positive recommendations. He’s pledged to take an analytic rather than political approach to big issues.

The city has removed anti-prostitution
barricades erected in May along McMicken Avenue in Over-the-Rhine and
Fairview, but the fight over the tactic continues. The barriers, taken
down on July31 as originally planned, were placed in the
area as a test to see if such measures would limit the incidence of
prostitution, a big issue in the area.

Eight of the nine Greenpeace activists
charged with hanging a giant banner from the Procter & Gamble
building downtown in March showed no interest in a plea deal with
prosecutors July 21, a lawyer for the group said. Without a plea deal,
the eight risk a maximum sentence of eight years in prison on felony
burglary and vandalism charges.

About 500 people rallied downtown July 20
to show support for Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, where more
than 400 civilians have been killed over the past few weeks in clashes
between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Northside Community Council voted July 21
to create a needle exchange program in the neighborhood. The effort,
run by the Cincinnati Exchange Program, will start sometime in August
and operate from a van one day a week for three hours at a time. Planned
Parenthood will also participate, providing testing services for
diseases like HIV and hepatitis.

More demand for housing aid and less
money from the feds have combined to create a simple but brutal equation
swelling the number of homeless individuals and families in the
Cincinnati area and across the country.

Both Gov. John Kasich and gubernatorial
hopeful Ed FitzGerald are fighting lawsuits over records related to
scheduling and security. And while the press and opposing political
parties push for disclosure, both are fighting to keep those records
private.

The Coalition Opposed to Additional
Spending and Taxes (COAST) says it will fight Hamilton County
Commissioners’ proposed plans to raise either sales or property taxes to
help pay for renovations to Music Hall and Union Terminal.

The race for Ohio attorney general is heating up, and Democratic candidate David Pepper last week slammed his opponent,
current Attorney General Mike DeWine, over Ohio’s lag in testing rape
kits, which are samples collected when a rape is reported.

A deal approved by City Council June 25
splits limited funds among two affordable housing projects, funding one
in Over-the-Rhine and leaving the door open for another that’s been in
the works for the last few years in Avondale.

City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld and other
Democrats held an event June 27 near the University of Cincinnati
criticizing Gov. John Kasich and the Ohio legislature for the low level
of funding available for higher education in the state.